Solace
by MikailMaddixx
Summary: OMG it's done! So this is my Silent Hill fanfic that I've been working on for waaay too long but it's done and it was definately worth it. The characters are my OC Arwyn Reilly and Alex. There will eventually be ArwynxAlex and Pyramid HeadxArwyn ; Enjoy
1. Chapter 1

Arwyn had been searching for his brother Marmion for quite some time now. He hated that it had come to this, but he knew what he had to do; he knew where to find him now. It had come to him in a dream. It was a bit of a ghost town from what he'd gathered, but that didn't bother him. He would do anything to get his brother back. Even if it meant he had to go to this place, he would do it. This place was called Silent Hill.

A day ago he had left for Silent Hill with high hopes, having packed what little clothes he had since he knew it would be a long trip. The road he was on was completely barren, and he hadn't seen another car for hours. And then, suddenly, he felt his car slowing down. After a few short moments it came to a complete stop. He tried to get it going again, but all it did was wheeze and then die again. His battery was dead, or so it appeared. But Arwyn was determined and would not give up that easily, so he got out of the car, tucked his pistol in the back of his pants, and started walking.

He walked along miles and miles of empty, open road until he finally saw the first signs of the town. All the buildings were run down, windows and doors boarded up to keep something from getting in, or more likely, getting out. Arwyn took comfort in the feeling of the cool metal of his gun against his lower back as he walked silently down the streets. The only sound was of his own footsteps against the pavement. He squinted to see through the dense fog, and his eyes landed on a once barricaded door that had been hacked open. The English man carefully stepped inside of the once abandoned building.

He looked around the small room resembling an office of sorts. He took note of an open door to his right, and seeing as it was the _only _open door, he went on through, down a short hallway, and into the lobby of what he now realized was a hotel. The room was dark and he had to squint to see very far. At the end of the hall, lying in the center of the lobby immediately in front of him was a body. Or at least what he thought was a body. At first he thought it was a human, but he realized soon that there was no way that could be possible. What he thought resembled organs were bright yellow in color, almost appearing to be glowing in fact. Its face was melted in a disgusting fashion, skin blackened and charred. Even its teeth were abnormal, seeming to just be sharp points jutting from its gums at this point. Its eyes were merely slits, so melded together that the sclera of its eyes were not even visible. There appeared to be something bubbling in its chest, leaking what looked like yellowish puss. Arwyn wrinkled his nose in disgust at the putrid scent of the thing, leaning closer to make out what he thought looked like a ribcage attached to its arms and bent to cover its chest.

As he leaned in closer to the beast, he lightly touched it with his index finger. The English man only did this to assure that it was dead. He certainly didn't want something like this rising again and coming from behind him to attack. He'd seen enough of things like this and he would like to avoid them if at all possible. Suddenly, the creature stirred, causing Arwyn to jump to his feet. An expression of horror on his face, he simply stood there. The way the thing walked left him confused and a little frightened. It walked like a human with a limp, its arm-like appendages crossed over its chest. Once at a shorter distance from Arwyn, the creature opened its arms, the yellowish thing in its chest pulsing, and released a black smoke into the air. Arwyn coughed and covered his face, his green eyes burning with the horrific scent. Just as he regained his breath, he heard the thunderous sound of a gunshot from right behind him. One more sent the beast to the ground, convulsing for merely a moment before lying completely and utterly still.

"Are you okay?" A low voice questioned.

Arwyn turned abruptly, met by the face of a man. He had short brown hair and brown eyes, the lower half of his face covered in a stubbly beard. He wore blue jeans a tan jacket with large pockets, a flashlight clipped to one and a small radio to the other. Two dog tags hung from his neck, gleaming in the small amount of light leaking in through the boards on the window. In his hands was a smooth brown shotgun, the tip still smoking from the shots fired at the creature now lying dead before them.

"Y-yes, I'm okay. Thanks to you."

"Don't worry about it. You gotta be careful with those things, okay?"

Arwyn nodded, "Right."

The man paused, "I've never seen you before…why are _you _in Silent Hill?"

"I'm looking for my little brother…he's missing and I know he's here…" Arwyn kept his face rather blank, appearing to be in deep thought.

"Your brother, huh? Me too. Something strange is going on in this town, and somehow my little brother is caught up in it. I don't know why he's here…but I'm here to save him. From things like that." He gestured to the dead creature.

"Well…maybe we could look together. Luck would be better with two than with one, right?"

"I guess." He paused, "Come on then, I just powered up the generator outside. The elevator should work now. I don't really trust it, but the stairs are blocked off so looks like I don't have much of a choice."

"Okay." Arwyn followed the other man across the lobby and to the open area at the end. "My name is Arwyn by the way."

"I'm Alex."

With that, Alex flicked a switch and down came the elevator. It didn't look stable, but it would have to do seeing as the stairs were completely inaccessible. The entire bottom half of the staircase had been knocked off completely, and rubble was surrounding all sides of the stairs. So into the uncomfortably cage-like elevator they went. When they entered, all of the buttons were worn down and broken, except for the one to the fifth floor.

Alex turned to Arwyn, "Looks like we're going farther up than I planned…"

He pressed the button, and up they went. As they went up, Arwyn stuck close to Alex, having a bad feeling about this elevator. Not long after being sealed into the small space, there was a rattling from behind them. The duo spun around, only to see another creature latched onto the elevator. This one was different than the dead one, though. It looked like a decapitated human with a cauterized head wound so it looked merely as if the shoulders never had anything attached to them. And between its legs was its head, upside down and with glowing white eyes. There was something wrong with its limbs too. At the wrists, there were dirty metal claws the size of its entire arm. And the legs appeared to be bent the wrong way at the knees, completely backwards. At the ankles there were again the metal claws, but these were larger and jointed at the middle.

With one swipe of its mighty claws, the creature sliced through the elevator like butter. Arwyn shrieked, jumping back with wide eyes. As soon as the creature tried to reach in, Alex fired at its dangling skull, hitting in right between the eyes. He did so until the creature completely fell off the elevator. Arwyn breathed a sigh of relief, but much too soon. The second a breath escaped him, another of the same thing broke through the right side. Again Alex shot it, and again it fell. And then there came a third monster, through the left this time. It shredded the metal links of the elevator, peeling back the entire left side like it was turning the page of a book. Alex shot this one too, this time in the chest. It fell far in the darkness, not making a sound.

By this point, Arwyn was in such a state of fright, his eyes were bulging from his face, his jaw was dropped, and he was panting heavily. And to top it all off, the elevator stopped. They were between floors two and three, able to see the floor of level three just above them, the space barely big enough for them to crawl through. Alex did just that, but Arwyn only stood there, too shocked to even comprehend what was happening. That was, until the elevator started moving.

"Arwyn, give me your hand!" Alex reached out to the other, and once they took their hand he pulled them up. As soon as they were on floor three, the elevator gave out, crashing downward until it hit the ground and was nothing more than a heap of twisted metal.

Directly in front of them, the floor was nothing more than a giant pile of rubble, with beams hanging down from the ceiling and jutting out towards them. Carefully, Arwyn walked over to inspect the damage. Behind said rubble, there was a gaping hole in the floor. There was just no way they could get over that. He turned back to face Alex.

"We can't get over this, where are we supposed to go?"

Alex seemed to have to think about that for a second before going to the painting hanging from the nearest wall. It was one of those fabric-like paintings that stretched from floor to ceiling. He stuck his knife into the highest part he could reach, dragging it down and slicing the painting in half right down the middle, revealing a hidden passageway inside the walls. Alex inspected the inside before gesturing for the other to follow him through.

"Come on, Arwyn. This is the way through."

Hesitantly, Arwyn followed him into the small space, sticking close to him the whole way. The only light was provided by Alex's flashlight, and so the English man kept a hand on the edge of his jacket just in case. The second they entered, the sound of a woman humming a lullaby was apparent. Thankfully the passageway was short, and they were soon at the end, having only to duck under a broken section of the wall to exit. Immediately outside and if front of them was a white door.

The duo made their way over to a room marked 301, the source of the lullaby they now realized. The top half of the door had a hole in it just big enough for a face to fit through. Once they reached the door, the singing stopped. What sounded like the voice of an old woman spoke to them.

"No one comes to visit anymore…" she said in a crackly voice.

"Who are you?" Alex said, cocking his head to the side.

"I wish a could remember," she spoke in the saddest voice Arwyn had heard it a long time.

"Who left you here all alone? Everyone else is gone."

"Don't blame them. You can understand, can't you? It's hard to watch something die." Arwyn had a sick sort of feeling in his chest. He did not like this place, nor this creepy woman. He stayed close to Alex.

Alex paused, "Tell me what you need. I'll see what I can do."

"So difficult to remember. The warm sunlight dancing on the water, the smell of cotton candy in the air, and the sound of wind blowing through the trees. Find them for me, and I'll give you what you need."

Arwyn did not like the sound of this, but he didn't protest. Clearly Alex knew a lot more about this horrible place then he did. With that, the two headed off together. As soon as they were away from the door, she was humming that lullaby again. What was once a comforting song to put a child to sleep was now sending a terribly eerie vibe over a place that was already not somewhere anyone wanted to be.

They tried door after door only to find that each one was locked or empty. That was, at least, until they reached room 309. There were boards nailed to the wall to block the door, but it appeared that was no match for Alex. The man equipped himself with an axe, told Arwyn to stand back, and hacked them right down. After that, they found that the door was very much open. In the center of the room, there was a dresser just in front of a massive pile of rubble. There was a large hole in the ceiling, boards broken and hanging every which way.

"We can get up to the fourth floor through there. Just be careful." Alex said, noticing the gaping hole.

He climbed up onto the dresser, pulling himself up to the next floor and helping Arwyn up right behind him. Immediately in front of them was a hole in the wall, leading to what seemed was the only way out of yet another room full of rubble. They climbed one after the other through the hole and into the next room. They walked until they reached the door that lead out to the hall, and Arywn took note of a small hole in the ground. Just as they reached the doorway, something came out of it. It looked like some sort of insect, but none that Arwyn had ever seen before. It had two sets of small wings, one in front and one in back. There were also four legs, two long ones in front and two smaller ones in the back. The legs were an ugly grayish color and the wings a dull brown. The main body was round and grayish brown in color. The front of the creature, which he _thought _was its face was a pulsing, pinkish muscle. The mouth was circular, lined around its edge. It looked rather like the front of a hookworm. There were little bits of bloody pink muscle clinging to its body. It was the size of a man's skull. It crawled towards them, bringing several others with it. Alex and Arwyn both brought their feet down on the things, slamming down hard enough to crush their brittle bodies. As they did, an awful smelling green liquid burst from the beasts, splattering all over the floor and their legs of course.

Arwyn was glad these creatures were smaller and not nearly as fearsome and the others they'd already seen. Although it did leave him to wonder what other hideous things might be lurking in this town of Silent Hill. He glanced at Alex before following him out the door. Luckily, this hallway seemed to be empty for the most part. The two walked down the center and had almost reached the end, when suddenly they heard a noise.

"What was that?" Arwyn asked, immediately stiffening.

Then, suddenly something emerged from one of the rooms. It looked like it had once been a woman. It had a perfectly normal woman's body except, of course, for the face. It looked melted and misshapen, looking more like it was wearing a brown paper bag tightly to hide a horribly disfigured face. It wore the uniform of a nurse, a short skintight dress above the knees and a small hat as well. The creature had no hair, nor did it have any recognizable facial features. Its clothes were dirty and blood-stained, with streams of dry blood down its legs. But worst of all, in its hands was a blade. The creatures hand gripped the brown handle, holding up the blade which was the length of its forearm, serrated, and deathly sharp. It came at them with a shocking speed, especially considering how choppy the movement was.

The creature quickly reached Alex, swinging wildly and quickly at him with the knife. Alex held up his arms and tried to fight the creature back, swinging back at it but barely able to get in a hit. Arwyn's eyes bulged when he saw the blade dig in to the other man's arm, blood spraying from the wound and onto the silvery blade as it was sliced and then immediately pulled back from. Alex merely grunted at the pain, but the English man was immediately nervous. He reached for his pistol in his back pocket, steadying his shaking arm and aiming at the nurse. He pulled the trigger, hitting it in the neck and getting its attention away from Alex. The creature turned to Arwyn, its head cocked. Again, and this time without hesitation, he pulled the trigger, shooting the thing again and again in the chest. He didn't stop until the nurse stopped moving, falling over dead without so much as a twitch.

He snapped out of his fright surprisingly quickly, more worried about Alex's wound than anything else at the moment. That man was clearly the only way he would ever get out of here and he definitely didn't want him injured. He hurried over to the other's side, putting the gun back in his pocket and safely under his shirt as well.

"Alex, you're hurt!"

"N-no, I'm fine. It's nothing, really."

"No it's not nothing. Let me see it, I can fix it okay? I don't want you to be hurt…" His concerned face was quite cute, and Alex simply couldn't resist.

Alex paused, "Okay, okay. Fine."

"Alright, take off your jacket and let me see…"

Alex did as the other asked, setting his jacket at an angle so the flashlight provided Arwyn with some sort of light. Arwyn inspected the wound, using his saliva to clean it out as that was all they had at their disposal. He tore a strip of fabric off of his conveniently long shirt, carefully wrapping up the wound and then instructing the other to put his jacket back on. "There, all better." Arwyn managed a small smile.

Alex smiled back at him, pulling his jacket back on and readjusting the gadgets that hung from it, and standing up straight again. "We better keep going."

Arwyn nodded, following the other into the room that the nurse had come from. It seemed to be just another room containing nothing more than a bed and dresser, nothing special. But at a second glance, he noticed something behind the dresser. He thought it could be a hole in the wall. "Alex, there's something behind there. Can you help me move it?"

Alex nodded, "Yeah." He went with Arwyn to push the dresser to the side, and indeed there was something behind it. It was yet another hole in the wall that led into the next room. They climbed through, carefully once again, and into the other room. Looking around, there was nothing special in that room. They went towards the door when Alex took note of the open bathroom. He went in, and of course Arwyn followed, not wanting to be alone for a second in that place. The room smelled like death, absolutely putrid and revolting.

"Look, Arwyn there's something in the sink." The English man joined Alex, peering into the porcelain bowl. The first thing he noticed was how much blood was crusted onto the sink. Then he noticed the postcard.

"Do you think this is what the woman was talking about?" Arwyn asked him, looking over.

"It just might be. Better take it just in case." Alex picked it up, putting it carefully into his pants pocket.

Seeing as there was nothing else of interest in that room, the two exited, going out into the hallway. There was yet again a large pile of rubble in the center of the hallway, the wires that hung still snapping with electricity. Carefully, they headed towards the rubble to see if there was anything on the other side. Just as they reached it, they heard the sound of heavy footsteps.


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry this took so long guys, I've been really busy lately and then my internet was down for a few weeks T^T**

**Anyways I hope you enjoy the chapter and I'm working on the next one, I'll try and get it done ASAP :)**

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><p>"Get down," Alex whispered, ducking down behind the rubble. Arwyn joined him. They could just see what was on the other side. It was a man this time, wearing only and dark brown apron like cloth over its lower half. Its feet were covered with thick leather boots, causing its footsteps to be even louder than without. Its chest was bare and surprisingly clean. Most of the blood was on the apron. It wore thick, dark gloves that went up to mid-bicep. It looked fairly normal, except for two things. The first was it had no head. In its place was a large and sharp pointed metal pyramid. It was brown and rusted, with bolts covering it, holding it in place. It jutted far in each direction, particularly in the front. It made him wonder how the thing could even get around, considering there was no way it could see through that. The second thing was its weapon. It was rusted just as much as the pyramid shaped helmet, probably the same type of metal in fact. It was a gigantic blade of some sort, looking almost like a cleaver except much, much larger. It was longer than the man's entire body and frighteningly thick too. It must have been heavy, because he had to drag it behind him. It was serrated on the top and sickeningly sharp. The sound of the metal dragging across the floor made Arwyn cringe.<p>

The beast paused right in front of them, not turning in any direction just stopping. Arwyn tensed, feeling nervous immediately. How could they possibly fight _that _thing. One swing of that blade and they'd both be dead. It turned towards them, dragging its blade with it. _It's looking right at us, _Arwyn thought. It stared right at them for some time, and Arwyn thought maybe it couldn't see them. But that only made him wonder why it looked this way. But after a few more terribly long moments, it turned back away, continuing the way it had been going and dragging that horrible blade behind it.

Arwyn looked to the man next to him with wide eyes, "What was that thing, Alex?"

"I…I don't know. I've never seen it before…" Alex stood, "Come on, we'd better get outta here before it comes back."

Arwyn nodded, rising to his feet to join the other. And then, suddenly, the door to their left burst open, but those bugs came from the right. The latched on to the two of them, gorging themselves on the sweet flesh and blood of their human enemies. Alex gripped the creatures by their bodies, tearing them off of himself and throwing them to the floor, stomping down and crushing them. Arywn was not so lucky. He was smaller and not quite as strong as Alex, he couldn't seem to pry them off fast enough. But Alex saw this struggle and immediately went to help. He tore the creatures from the other man's arms and face, crushing them as he did their brethren.

Once they were all dead, he turned to the other, "Arwyn, are you alright?" He inspected the other's wounds, not liking what he saw at all. There was a decent sized bite in the other's forehead, not too much skin was missing but you know how head wounds bleed. He found a strip of fabric that the British man had torn himself from his shirt, wrapping it carefully at an angle around his head. It laid just above his eye, only slightly over the brow. Arwyn lightly touched his fingertips to it, wincing. "Thanks, Alex." Not giving the other a chance to respond, the smaller man headed off towards the newly opened door, entering yet another drab hotel room.

Alex quickly followed suit, coming in behind the other. Just to the right of the bed, there was a gaping hole in the wall, level with the floor. The duo headed through into the next room, knowing it would lead them over to the other side of the hallway which had been so inconveniently blocked off by all that rubble. Light flooded in through the two curtained windows, illuminating the empty bed. They did a quick search and saw nothing important, moving to continue on. Alex lead the way once again, keeping a close eye on Arwyn who was a bit sluggish now, the adrenaline wearing off quickly and pain settling from the bug's attack on him.

They headed out of the room, ignoring the horrible stench which flooded in through the open bathroom. Back in the hallway, they went straight across. The door was locked, but to the left was a boarded up hole, the bathroom visible through the seams. Alex calmly told Arwyn to keep his distance as he removed the wooden fire axe from the strap on his back. He hacked at the wood, bracing his ears as it splintered, until the space was clear. He went through, the English man following close behind. They immediately heard the sound of what was yet another bug, and poor Arwyn flinched at the sight of the thing. But luckily, Alex took care of it right away, stomping down on it with his heavy boots, listening to the crunch as it splattered on the floor.

Alex turned to Arywn, noticing the dizzy sort of look he had. "Are you okay to keep going? We could stop for a while if you need the rest." Arwyn shook his head quickly, "No, I'm okay. Let's keep going." Alex nodded, glancing over to sink and noticing the briefcase. There was a serum inside. "Here, Arwyn. This will help you heal faster." He trusted Alex, letting him inject the thing into his arm without protest. Then, he followed the other back out of the room, down the hall and to the left. They followed it all the way to the end, finding yet another hole boarded up on the far wall. Alex hacked it down again and helped the other through.

They went straight up the staircase directly in front of the opening, Alex hopping over the sudden gap at the top of the first flight, steadying Arwyn as he barely landed on his feet behind him. They continued up, reaching the top of the second flight and heading through an open doorway. The second they reached the top, they saw the a little boy, brown hair and brown eyes just like Alex. His hair was shaggy, hanging in his dark eyes. He was thin and pale, wearing baggy green cargo shorts and an orange t-shirt. Before Alex could even yell for him to wait, he was gone. In his place was another of the creatures with the metal legs. It latched onto the wall, crawling up and onto the ceiling, peeling back bits of the wallpaper as it went. Limbs hitting the ceiling with a metallic thud, it came at them before dropping to the ground just at their feet. Arwyn carefully watched, dizziness swarming his head, as Alex took the thing down with his knife.

Further down the hall they went, taking note of several boarded up areas as well as a hole in the floor twice the size of Alex's body. Arwyn also noticed all of the small bugs crawling across the peeling wallpaper. He held on loosely to Alex's jacket, sticking as close as he could. The other said nothing. Hearing a creak in the ancient floorboards caused him to jump, temporarily letting go of the other's sleeve. The second he did, another creature fell from the ceiling, landing directly on Alex, all its weight bringing him to the ground. His green eyes grew wide as the metal legs dove for the other's shoulder. He rolled away just in time, but the metal nicked his jacket, cutting a thin line in the fabric.

Snapping out of his state of shock yet again, Arwyn reached for his gun. Pulling the silver pistol from his pocket, he placed a trembling finger to the trigger and prayed his aim would not fail him. He buried two bullets right between its beady black eyes, watching as its legs folded beneath it and it fell on top of Alex with one last pained squeal. He immediately went over to shove the dead beast off of him, kneeling beside him.

"Alex, are you alright?" Concern shone through his soft features, and was present in his voice as well.

Alex moved to sit, "It's fine, don't worry," he put a hand against the other's forehead where the wound still was. "How's your head?"

"It's better..." As he spoke, a light pink tone rose quickly to Arwyn's cheeks, but he brushed it off as nothing more than a light flush from feeling so feverish.

He got up quickly, before Alex could say a word. Making his way over to the broken off part of the wall near the hole in the floor, he ducked beneath dangling boards and into a bathroom. Alex followed close behind, wearing a puzzled expression momentarily. Alex lead the way into the room which was another with a gaping hole spanning nearly the entire room. Beneath the rim where the broken floorboards dipped down into the next level was a chest of drawers. Alex tested it cautiously and found it stable enough, climbing down and helping Arwyn down behind him. The room was empty and all the doors were sealed tight save for the bathroom which hung open and leaked its terrible scent into the once clean air. Following Alex in, Arwyn noticed a small postcard in the sink similar to the one they'd found before. He picked it up, showing it to the other. "Do you think this is the second memory?"

Alex glanced at it, comparing it to the other in his pocket. "Yeah, looks like it."

Arwyn handed it to him, watching him put it in his pocket to join the other. After trying the doors all once more, they decided there was no other purpose to be down there. Climbing back up the dresser, they exited the room into the hall. Almost immediately upon their exit, another of the needle legged creatures -needlers, that was what he would call them- climbed from the hole in the floor, clicking along the wood towards them. Arwyn went at it with a knife, conserving bullets of course, missing at first and hearing the clang of metal against metal. He cringed at the awful sound before ducking around the legs, and slicing knife against already scarred flesh. Repeatedly he slashed, not letting up even for a second. A second needler climbed from the hole, and Alex took care of that one with ease as Arwyn finished off the first.

As the creatures fell dead to the floor, the pair noticed a boarded up doorway. Alex removed his axe from the strap on his back, hacking it down as Arwyn stood slightly off to the side. They entered in to another nearly empty room, though took note of a container of bullets on the bed. Arywn pocketed them, as Alex had little room to carry things on his person. The British man then noticed a sort of gleam behind the dresser. Something was there, but he didn't know what. "There's something behind here. Help me move it Alex."

Alex did as the other requested, pushing the item as far as he could. A child's drawing leaned up against the wall. Arwyn carefully picked it up. "Joshua must have left this for you. Maybe it's some sort of clue?" The other took it, nodding. "Yeah, that's his. There's others like it, too..." Nothing more was said on the subject, and they left the otherwise empty room.

Again they headed down the hall, a ways down finding another doorway like the last. Alex hacked through the doors, careful of the splintering wood. The large hole was easily visible from the doorway. They moved the dresser aside to go through it. A shining postcard was lying just on the edge of the bed. Alex picked it up, putting it in his pocket to join the rest of the set. "We should get these memories back to that woman."

They went to the bathroom just to be sure there was nothing else in this particular room, seeing as their was no way out. Alex spotted a red drink with a green cross on the front, immediately handing the bottle to Arwyn. "Hold on to this, you might need it."

They then turned around, went back through the hole in the wall -careful for handing boards- and out into the hall. The two headed all the way to the end of the hall and left, going down the only accessible stairs in the whole place. The second they turned around the corner at the bottom, something was there.

It was female this time, or so he thought. She was a nurse, with the red cross in the center of her hat and the white dress leaving most of her breasts bare and coming to mid-thigh. It was skin tight and absolutely drenched in blood, some dry and some so wet it dripped down her legs. She would actually be quite lovely if not for one thing: there was something wrong with her face. It was as if her face had been contorted with eyes squinted shut and mouth and nose gone altogether, brain peeking out from the top corner of her head, and a rumpled paper bag had been wrapped around the whole mess. She came at them fast, swinging the long, serrated blade in her hand straight for Alex's chest. Luckily, he ducked out of the way just in time, plunging his own knife deep into her back -one, two, three times- until she fell to the floor with a pained shout.

A second came not long afterward, closely followed by a third. Arwyn went after one, with wide eyes, while Alex took care of the other. The English man avoided getting too close, aiming for her head and pulling the trigger until he was sure beyond a reasonable doubt that she was dead. After an abnormally deep breath on Arwyn's part, they entered into the room that the nurses had just come from. There was a hole in the left wall, which the two easily slipped through before going back out into the hall on the other side of all that rubble. They continued down until they reached the last right, going in and knowing precisely where to go as they'd been this way once before. They went back down the hole, climbing off of the dresser and onto the creaking floorboards. Heading through yet another hole in the wall of the dilapidated building, they headed left into the hall, then left again, going until they were stopped by the creature from the lobby. Arwyn held his gun protectively out in front of him, wide eyed, and looked to Alex.

"You get it Arwyn, I'm here to back you up." He offered a gentle smile.

Arwyn slowly nodded, ducking out of the way of the poison smoke -smog, that's what it was, maybe that's what the creatures should be called- and aimed for the beast's lungs. He emptied the remainder of his rounds into the vibrant, pulsing organs, watching it fall dead to the floor with soft thud. Remembering the pack of bullets they'd picked up in one of the rooms, he reloaded.

Alex lead them back to the last left, heading through the small, damp, and dark passageway which lead to the woman's door. Alex passed the postcards through the doorway to the old woman, "Is this what you wanted?"

"Thank you," she said in her kind yet somehow eerie voice.

Through the hole in the door, she handed him a key, and the pair immediately wondered what it was for. Alex simply shook his head, stating that they'd figure it out tomorrow and that they should get some rest for now. They could sleep in shifts, he said. So they headed to the room across from the woman's door, shutting the door behind them. With the help of Arwyn, Alex moved the dresser up against the door along with anything else they could move to barricade the door. They didn't want anything getting in, even if one of them was watching the door.

Alex smiled in the other's direction, "You can sleep first, I'll wake you up in a few hours, okay?"

Arwyn nodded, not trusting the bed in the slightest and lying down on the floor beside Alex instead, feeling the warmth from the other's body as his head rested against their thigh. He could hear the woman's soothing lullaby through the door, and he fell asleep quickly. Alex looked down at the other, but said nothing. He let them sleep for several hours and nothing had come in by three. Not long afterward, he woke Arwyn, taking the man's place on the floor. The English man smiled down at the other occasionally, keeping watch for at least an hour before a noise in the hall caught his attention.

Before he had so much as s second to think, their barrier came crashing down, the creature with the pyramid head smashing it in with ease. The creature waved its hand and two others just like it came in, lifting up Arwyn -they were without blades- before the man had a chance to shoot.

"Alex!" The English man screamed, struggling against the brown-helmeted creatures who were completely unfazed by each attempted hit. One easily held his arms, the other his legs.

The red pyramid head, the master, was directly facing Alex who had awakened at the sound of the crashing barricade. It raised its mighty blade, swinging at Alex with all its strength. The man ducked away, the blade just missing his body. He took quick notice of the blade getting stuck in the floor, sprinting for the door. By the time he entered the hall, Arwyn and his captors were nowhere to be found. They were gone.


	3. Chapter 3

**Okay, so I know this has taken forever ^^;**

**But I **_**am**_** still working, so please don't give up on me guys. **

**I don't get a lot of type to actually type, but I'm working as much and as quickly as I can, so just hang in there, okay? You guys are awesome and I don't want to let you down, so just be patient please. **

**Anyway, I hope you like the chapter. **རྫ

Arwyn kicked and shoved and flailed within the beast's grasp, but no matter his struggles it held him easily in place.

"Where are you taking me?!"

It didn't speak, just kept on going.

"Answer me, goddammit!"

Once again, nothing.

The English man wisely decided to save his breath. Instead, he watched his surroundings: hallway after miserable hallway. The kept going down, down, down…

He tried to stay awake…

But he was tired…

Arwyn woke to the sound of chains. Green orbs shot open, terror filling them as he realized his feet were not touching the ground. He shifted his arms and felt the cool metal of shackles around his wrists. There was no one and nothing but emptiness in front of him and that doubled his level of desperation. Every time he tugged, the chains rattled and there was otherwise no give.

His legs were spread as his arms were and shackled at the ankles, leaving his body suspended in an X shape. The second his lips parted to shout, a large hand gripped a handful of his hair, pulling his head back roughly. He felt the metal of the helmet against his face and knew exactly who, or rather _what_, was there. The second hand clamped over his mouth to muffle his initial scream, then trailed down his neck. The large fingers traced down the center of his torso, stopping momentarily to flick beneath the brim of his pants, the button popping off and skittering across the floor.

Arwyn gasped uncomfortably, eyes even wider than before, "Wh-what are you doing?!"

Of course he didn't expect him to answer, the creature never talked. It was understandable given the helmet…

He pulled back suddenly, tearing the clothes right off of Arwyn's body in one mighty swoop. As the gun hit the floor, Pyramid Head picked it up to find a more acceptable use for it. He pressed the cold metal against the English man's face, running it along his jaw and slowly but forcefully sliding it in between his slightly parted lips. Arwyn gagged at the sudden intrusion, shaking fearfully as he immediately thought he'd be shot. He prayed the safety would stay on. He had no choice but to do what the creature wanted. If he dared disobey, there was no telling what would happen to him.

The helmeted man moved the thin barrel of the revolver back and forth within the other's orifice and Arwyn struggled to keep up. He moved his head in sync with the gun to keep it from going too deep, craning his neck at times to reach. By the time it was removed, which was many minutes later, it was dripping with saliva. A small string hung off of Arwyn's lower lip, connected to the tip of the gun's barrel.

Arwyn watched the gun slowly disappear behind him and felt the sweat beginning to form on his forehead. Suddenly he felt the barrel proding at his rear and his body immediately tensed. He tried to say something, to scream, but he couldn't even manage a few simple words. He was in a state of complete paralysis. The man let out a pained gasp as he felt it start to go in. Pyramid Head forced it in slowly just to the point where barrel meets trigger. He held his breath, body shaking as the gun began a back and forth motion. It was pulled back until the barrel was barely inside, then jammed back in again. Horrified tears rolled quickly down his cheeks, accompanied by no more than pathetic whimpers.

The in and out continued, faster and harder each time. The other's noises were low and deep but it was clear to Arwyn that they were pleased sounds, sounds which deeply disturbed him. His breath came in quick, pained gasps, with the occasional whimper, "Wh-why?" He could no longer hold back his sobs, though they came almost silently.

Pyramid Head's hand, the one which was not ravaging him with the revolver, clamped over his mouth to keep him quiet. Arwyn held his breath as the gun was slowly pulled out of him. He hoped it was over yet knew it was not. The second this hope crossed his mind, he felt the other's large member against his rump. He cried out in pain and surprise as the other entered him inch by inch. Pain shot through his body with the first few thrusts but as they continued it faded to an intense throbbing pain. The thrusts were slow but powerful and the chains around him rattled with each one. Terror filled the young man's hear, an absolute fear that he had never felt before. He begged him to stop but the other's motions only grew faster. The young man could feel the blood begin to drip down the backs of his legs.

The helmeted man's member tore brutally through the other's tissue. His pace was steady but disturbingly quick. At the same time, Arwyn could feel the large man's hands on him: one on his chest, a finger running roughly over his nipple, and the other gripping his member in his hand. If this were any other situation it would have been quite enjoyable but given the circumstance that was hardly the case. This man, this _thing_, could end him at any moment, and the very possibility of that disturbed him deeply.

He felt the other stroking him and the feeling made his whole body shiver. It was not in a pleasant way. After what felt like hours of endless torture, at least in Arwyn's mind, he felt the other's seed fill him beyond capacity, mixing with the blood which colored his thighs. His body shook painfully but the other held him in place, forcing him to take it all in whether he liked it or not. He felt it throb inside him and it sent a shooting pain through his body. At last Pyramid Head pulled out from Arwyn's mutilated backside, quickly adjusting his apron to once again cover himself. He took pause behind the man for some time before loosening the chains, watching the man slump to the floor uselessly, body wracked with sobs. He left Arwyn there, alone and in the dark, disappearing into the void which was Silent Hill.

Arwyn could feel nothing but pain, his sobs continuing out of sheer terror. Yes, the thing was gone, but what would come next for him was a mystery, one which he did not wish to uncover. His body shook just slightly and he could scarcely keep himself awake. His abused body was slipping quickly into exhaustion…

When he awoke next, he was beside a once grand fountain, now crumbling and broken. The majority of the large stone piece was reduced to rubble. As he glanced at it in the brief flash that his vision allowed him, he was deeply confused. How could he be here, this was certainly not where he had lost consciousness. That meant that someone had moved him. The thought of that monster _touching _him made him feel ill. What had happened was already far too much, and he never wanted to see it again.

He brought himself to a standing position, leaning on a large block of stone for support. Looking around in his haze, he slowly took in his surroundings. There was grass: browning, dying grass, a drop of in the land which formed a small cliff –one that he could easily climb –and…graves. There were tombstones everywhere, in small yards on the upper level. He was in a cemetery. The very thought of that disturbed him but before he had the chance to act on it, he saw a boy.

The boy was standing at the edge of that cliff, staring down at him. He could _feel _the child's eyes on him, staring through his body and into the innermost pieces of his soul. This unrelenting stare made him feel isolated, exposed. While this boy was certainly an eerie sight, especially given the familiarity that lingered about him, his actual appearance was not frightening in the slightest. He had a head of soft brown curls, fair and freckled cheeks, and innocent green eyes. Arwyn felt that he should know this boy, yet could not place his finger upon his name.

As the boy finally turned from him, he saw the back of his head and that was when he recognized him. He gave in instantly to the compelling urge to follow him. He moved as quickly as he could, going across the yard and climbing up the low hanging cliff. He saw the boy turn the corner, entering a gate on the wall there. He didn't _see _the gate but rather heard the creaking of its rusting metal hinges.

Atop one of the graves was a gun –Arwyn's gun –which the man reached for at the recognition of its appearance. He then made for the gate, but the second his hand gripped the handle, there was a noise behind him. Something was running. As he turned he saw it coming. It was –or, at least used to be –a dog, easily half his height on all fours. The canine looked as though the skin had been flipped inside out , a shiny mass of crimson coating the body's exterior. He could see the curves of its ribs within the 'skin' as well; It was thin, but large nonetheless. The thing bared its teeth at him, a feral growl escaping its jowls. It lurched at Arwyn, but at the same time he raised his gun, which was already in hand, and fired into its chest.

He watched the thing fall to the ground in silence, feeling the chill of the air against his skin. The breeze exemplified the fact that he was quite naked. His clothes had been previously torn to shreds by the helmeted man, and it left him shivering on this morning. To his right was what he found to be a sight even more disturbing than the boy: a fenced in area containing a patch of freshly dug graves. There were two, and it immediately made him think of himself…and Alex. He had to find him and quick.

Trying his hardest to push that sight from his mind, Arwyn continued on his way, slipping through an archway across from the gated area and down a short flight of stairs. The sights here got no better. The path was long and narrow, lined on either side with rows of drawer tombs easily twelve feet tall. Most of them were unmarked, he noted, and the very sight of them made him cringe. Shivering again as a gust of wind came through, Arwyn realized that though he lacked his clothes he still had his shoes on. The tennis shoes looked quite ridiculous without anything else to accompany them, but that was beside the point. He needed to stop letting himself get distracted and focus on the situation at hand.

He pushed forward, heading through a second archway which entered a small room with a large crypt on either side. This led through another archway and into a small circular area with more crypts arranged around the outer edge. There were two more similar to this before he ended up in a small courtyard. There was a stone bench with a metal arc over it on the wall furthers from him. Beside it was an opening which he went through to make his exit. It was a thin corridor of sorts, and it left him at the end only one option: left. So he turned in that direction, stepping on the metal grates beneath him and flinched at first at the clanging sound below. The touch of the fenced gate when he pushed through it made him shiver. He realized just how cold his body had become then, and he thanked God that he had made it through that cemetery and found a street. By the looks of the decrepit street there wouldn't be people anymore, but there would at least be houses left behind. The lamppost halfway down was leaning to nearly the opposite side of the street, and Arwyn decided it would be best to duck into the gate that came before it. He didn't want to risk it falling on him. So he entered the creaking wooded gate and came upon someone's backyard. There was a child's playground in the corner –a slide, two swings –and a tree house in the other. Then there was the house, a staircase just in front and off to one side that probably led to the basement. That would be his way in. it was just in case there turned out to be people inside, not that he thought there would be, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

Arwyn made his way carefully down the steps, opening up the door. The first thing he noticed was the electric pump which must have been used for removing water as there was still a bit of it on the floor. He looked for the stairs up, spotting them off to the left and making his way there. The house was on the chilly side, but it was much warmer then outside and he was glad for that at least.

The door at the top of the stairs was ajar, which made the man nervous. Regardless, the need for clothing overpowered his fear. Besides, it wasn't as if he was unarmed. He entered into what he assumed to be a foyer of some sort. There was a staircase just behind him –it was where the basement door had exited –and up was where the bedrooms were in a typical house, so up he went. Off to his right was a bedroom which, he realized upon entering, must have belonged to and older woman –a mother perhaps –due to the flowery, dated bedspread. At least that was his assumption. There was nothing in particular of note, though as he approached the dresser to look for something to cover himself, he saw a note lying atop it. It was written to a man named Adam –so it must have been a couple then –and it read:

_Adam, I know that you will soon return to me, but I miss you dearly and writing to you always calms my nerves. Everything here is the same, but with you gone, the house is so empty..._

It was a sad thing, that was for sure, and it made Arwyn wonder what had happened to the people who had lived here. Brushing the thought from his mind, he opened up a drawer in front of him: men's clothes, thank God. He plucked out a shirt and pants, ignoring the guilty feeling of taking a dead man's things. Arwyn slipped the articles on, grateful for their immediate warmth. Was there any other immediate need? No, none that he could think of.

Heading back downstairs after swiping a jacket, he searched for anything else of use. The main area of the downstairs was empty but Arwyn peeked into the open doorway near the front. It was a living room, a family room. To his surprise, and horror, there _was _someone inside. She was an older woman, a mess of brown hair tied back in a loose bun, dark green dress soaked in water and dripping to the ground ever so slowly. She wore a brown sweater over top of her dress, sitting in a rocking chair and staring blankly into the window. She didn't even move as the floor creaked beneath his feet. _The poor woman, _Arwyn thought, _alive but catatonic. Something terrible must have happened to her. _He felt the urge to speak to her, but also feared wrath for invading her home. Though, if she truly was as he thought, a bit of inquiry wouldn't make a lick of difference. She wouldn't say anything of substance.

There he was getting distracted again. He needed to go. Alex was more important, no matter how much he wanted to know this woman's story. It wasn't as if he could help anyway…

He turned back, hurrying in silence back to the foyer. Opening the front door with no more than a soft click, he stepped outside once again. Aimlessly wandering the streets for some time, Arwyn eventually stumbled upon something. From a distance it appeared as just a pile of rags, blood soaked scraps of fabric, but as he drew closer he could better make out its features: a human figure, a woman, blonde hair. She was not in good shape. Her body was only roughed up to an extent, clearly able to be recognized as a female. The head, on the other hand, was unrecognizable. Something sizable must have bashed it in by the looks of it: it was a mangled, bloody mess of flesh and bone and perhaps even brain tissue. If not for the scraps of crimson stained blonde hair, Arwyn would not have seen it as a head at all. What on Earth had happened to this poor girl?

Before he had proper time to think, the sound of white noise intruded into his thoughts. He looked around frantically; where was that coming from? The man searched quickly yet thoroughly, and found the source to be a small radio which was clutched in the hand of the dead girl. Hesitantly, he approached. Arwyn knew just how to do this: he curled his slender fingers beneath the very tips of hers, prying them back and ignoring the pops and snaps as he did so. He then took the radio from her open palm.

As soon as it was in his hand, he heard the thing coming. He heard its heavy footsteps thumping against the ground and as he turned he caught sight of it. A glimpse was all he needed. There was a set of arms bound together by some thick cord shooting out and hanging from the forehead, a massive chest and shot, awkwardly bent legs. Massive growths had formed from the muscular biceps of its actual arms, devouring whatever had once been the location of hands and forearms and making huge, rounded triangular blocks which it rested most of its weight upon. A set of thinner, more feminine legs came out from the creature's back, dangling in the air as it moved slowly towards him. He turned and faced the thing, aiming his gun and firing as it several times. This went on for some time before he heard that dreadful click. _Out of ammunition._

Arwyn tucked the radio into his jacket pocket and sprinted away. He ignored the burning pain in his legs which this caused; he would rather be in intense pain than dead by this thing. As he ran, he realized this must have been what killed the girl.

Before long he'd reached a police station, or rather the back parking lot of one, and put a good distance between himself and the creature. He pulled the radio frantically out of his pocket and held the button down, "I-is someone there? I need help..."

He swallowed, waiting desperately for an answer.

"_Arwyn? Where are you?"_

The man could have sworn his heart stopped, "Alex..."


	4. Chapter 4

**Again, sorry this took so long. I'm still working though, I promise. I'm planning for this to be a rather long one, so...yeah. I don't know how long it will take but I'll finish eventually. I know this is also a pretty short chapter, but I've already started the next one and I wanted to at least get something up for you guys. For those of you that are still watching this fic, thank you for your support. **

The rusted garage door opened up about two feet above the ground and Alex ducked under and came rushing to Arwyn's side, pushing the man protectively behind him just before the creature swung. It missed them by inches. As it slammed its front stumps into the ground, Alex led it on and the thing followed him around until it was far enough away that Arwyn was safe for the time. He would have been able to get away but he couldn't leave Alex. He emptied shells into its face and Arwyn watched without a sound. His mouth hung open in shock and he watched, fearfully, as Alex fought with it. The massive creature fell, dead, to the ground after a few shots and no one had been hurt.

Inhaling deeply, Arwyn ran over to the other, ignoring any pain that raced through his body. The thin man stood close to the other, their bodies nearly touching, and held Alex's face in his hands. "A-Alex...you're okay..." He bit his lip, looking up at the other man with tearful relief.

Alex furrowed his brows at the other, "I thought for sure you were dead. What happened to you?"

Before Arwyn could answer, he heard the static of the radio again and knew that something more was coming. Alex briskly gripped his arm and led him away, lifting the manhole and sliding it off to the side. The shaken Englishman descended first and his counterpart followed immediately afterward, replacing the cover and sealing them in.

Arywn desperately gripped each rung as he made his way down the ladder on weak legs. He slipped a few times but always caught himself. The man above him urged him on in a confused and concerned fashion. After what seemed like eternity itself, they finally reached the bottom and after just a few more steps, Arwyn's legs gave out from beneath him and he collapsed. Alex, of course, was right behind him and caught the poor man as he fell, "Arwyn!"

He had so many questions...but first he needed to get the clearly injured man somewhere safer than this sewer. He hoped they could get through quickly, or at least hide out until the creatures above passed. He slung Arwyn's arm over his shoulder and led him off to the side to sit against the wall for a few moments.

"Arwyn...are you okay? What's wrong?"

The man paused for a few moments before forcing a reassuring smile, "Nothing. Don't worry."

Eventually the Englishman stood again. The duo dropped off the platform and moved forward through the tunnel, passing a rusted wreckage of a car on their way. There were several gates, and they opted for the one on the left with a valve beside it. Alex turned it and let the other through, who in turn cranked it open for him. The pair moved through and eventually found a large hole through the wall which led past an otherwise dead end. The descended on the other side into water which was up to their thighs. It made them both nervous. Arwyn hung back a bit behind Alex, just in case.

"Oh. Here, take this," Alex stopped suddenly, turning to toss the other a pack of ammo.

"Thanks," Arwyn spoke as he loaded his gun with a sigh of relief. Just as the revolver locked back into place, something stirred beneath the water. After merely one step forward, the creature jumped up. It looked like a person with their legs bound back behind their body. There were huge, metal, curved claws extended from what used to be hands. They swung forward with great strength, but Arwyn ducked out of the way.

The beast's vertical mouth pulsed open an closed as if it had no control over its muscle contractions. It spanned the height of its head and was lined with sharp teeth; that was where Arwyn aimed his gun. He emptied a few shots right into it, and the creature dropped dead without much of a fight. As the pair moved further, a second of these lurkers shot up from the water. Alex took care of it this time, fairly quickly, and they were able to move on.

They continued through many strange tunnels, over platforms, and through many broken walls before they reached an especially dark and snaking tunnel. Down a ways they found another large gate with a red valve. Alex cranked it open again and let Arwyn through. He went to turn it again but something was wrong. No matter how hard he twisted, it wouldn't budge.

"Alex, it's stuck..."

Before the other could respond, a shrill cry pierced the air. It sounded like a screaming, wailing banshee, and as they looked back they could see its source. It was a grey, eyeless creature, human in shape but listless. The face was serene and emotionless, aside from the gaping, toothless mouth which let out the horrible wail. The two couldn't help but protectively cover their ears, for the sound was deafening and terrible. Then the clicking started. Ten sets of metallic needlepoint legs tapped against the walls, the ceiling, the floor. They came in fast like a mob, surrounding Alex too quickly for him to comprehend the situation.

Alex held his gun at the ready and Arwyn urged him on, unable to pass through the gate and assist. He shot shells into crowd of them, sinking bullets into their bellies where their weakest points were. All the while the toothless creature screamed. Just barely ducking away from swinging blows from the needlers' legs, Alex emptied his rounds into what he thought was the last one.

He felt one of the legs collide with his back and it sent him forward to the ground. The creature lifted its leg, as if to pierce Alex with it, but was knocked off and startled long enough for Alex to sink his blade between its eyes. The monster fell over dead and left the man with merely a shallow cut down his back.

The needlers kept filing in after that. It was as if they were drawn to the squealing of the grey creature. Alex was baffled and distressed and Arwyn shouted, "Kill the mannequin!"

Hurrying to the creature in spite of the impeding swarm, Alex hoisted up his axe from his back. He swung hard, making contact with the mannequin's neck and taking off the head. Before their eyes, the head lost its fluid look and was nothing more than dull plastic rolling on the ground. The body toppled over and the wailing ceased instantly. He was able then to return his attention to the needle-legged creatures closing in on him. He shot at them, going along the circular edge of the crowd. They fell, one by one, and Arwyn breathed a sigh of relief as his line of vision opened up again to show Alex still standing.

As the final creature convulsed and died, the valve loosened enough for Arwyn to turn it. With that, he called Alex over and the larger man ducked under the open gate. After making sure once again that the coast was clear, the duo continued through the maze of tunnels. They came across several more of the lurkers, but there wasn't much else trouble. Arwyn was getting a bit of a shake in his legs, though he grit his teeth and bore the pain. They had to be close.

Soon after, they arrived in an open circular area with a heavy grate beneath their feet. There were pillars around them a big gate on the opposing side. The valve was hard to turn, and after trying for some time, Alex stopped to the familiar clicking sound of needle feet. Both of them had their guns at the ready and waited for the creatures to approach. As they drew close enough, Alex aimed for the body and Arwyn for the head. There were only two.

Then there was a terrible howl. It was a low, guttural growl from behind them. Arywn recognized the sound from earlier and tensed in horror. From the darkness of the tunnel, the large creature which they'd seen outside the police station emerged. Alex let out a shotgun blast to its chest, and the damage was minimal. The creature swung its might arm at the man, and he just missed the blow but had fallen back from the impact shaking the ground. Arwyn shot his revolver, but the bullets seemed to do nothing. He shot at the smaller legs in back and the beast growled in pain at that. He kept shooting at those dainty legs, keeping his back to the wall and staying along the edge of the circle. After a few more shots, he had to jump out of the way of a giant arm, long legs stumbling over the grate to land him on his hip. The creature approached faster than he could get up, but Alex had recovered by that point and aimed his shotgun for the dangling legs. He kept shooting and shooting, and as the creature lifted its arm once more it fell over dead, body landing just beside Arwyn as he got out of the way at light speed.

Following a brief and terrified embrace on Arywn's part, the two continued to try the gate again. This time it opened, and they followed the procedure which they always had: Arwyn went through first and Alex followed. From there they could see the end: a ladder. Arwyn, in his weakened state, leaned heavily against Alex as they made their way toward it. The Englishman's arm was slung over the other's shoulder, and he could no longer hide his limp. Alex was worried, though he said nothing just yet. It wasn't the time for questions; he was more concerned with getting them to safety. They reached it, and Alex sent the smaller one up first so he could catch him if he slipped. Arwyn managed to make it up just barely, arms and legs shaking all the while. He used a great deal of his remaining strength to push the manhole open and crawl out of that sewer.

Upon reaching the surface, Arwyn collapsed again. The other hurried to his side, slipping his arms under the injured one's body and lifting him up to carry him the rest of the way. There was a small whimper, but nothing more.

Mere steps from the manhole from which they'd exited, the small radio attached to Alex's pocket buzzed on, "Alex? Alex! Come in, are you there?"

Alex held down the button to respond with his free hand, the other firmly holding Arwyn, "Wheeler? Are you alright?" Alex asked in concern.

"I've been better, but I'm okay. Did you find Elle?"

"No, I haven't seen her. I'm looking for her now. Where are you?"

"I'm just now leaving the station to find Fitch. Look, we need to stick together! Meet me at his office, maybe he knows where Elle is."

"Okay. I'll meet you there." With that, he slipped the radio back into his pocket.

As they started toward the office, Arwyn looked up in confusion, "Who's Elle?"

"A friend of mine. I've been looking for her for a while now."

"Erm...she doesn't happen to be a small blonde woman, does she?" Arwyn could feel the discomfort rising in his chest.

"Y-yeah, actually. Why? Have _you _seen her?"

"More or less. She…it was too late to save her when I found her. Something must have attacked her. That…I got this radio from her body. It's how I contacted you…"

"She's dead? Are you serious? Oh god…" Alex looked distraught.

"I'm sorry, Alex…I didn't know or I would have told you sooner," he frowned.

"It's…I should tell Wheeler. Let's just get to the office, alright?"

"Okay."

From then on, it was a near silent trip. Arwyn cradled his gun in hand as a few rustling sounds were heard, having it at the ready in case something came by. Sure enough, there were a few of those skinless canines which he'd seen earlier in the cemetery, but they were easy enough to be rid of. He took them out as the duo hurried through the streets.

There were droplets of blood on the ground as they reached the office, and from a distance they could see the frail old man holding some sort of blade in hand. Alex put a hand to his shoulder to get his attention when calling out elicited no response, "Hey…Doc Fitch? Are you okay?"

The old man whimpered, as if frightened, "What do you want?"

Upon examining the blade closer, it was clear there was no injury on the man and the blood which trickled down his hand was not his at all. "Whose blood is that? What have you done?" Alex demanded.  
>The doctor sprinted away from them, into the building, "St-stay away from me…"<p>

Alex quickly made his way for the door which the doctor had slammed behind him, coming upon a small clinic inside. There was a loveseat and couch near the door and the counter where a secretary would normally be directly across from them. It was dark and empty, and most disturbingly lacking even the doctor who they'd both seen enter. Where could he have gone?

"Here," Alex spoke as he set the injured one down on the couch. "You should rest for a while, alright? I'm gonna search the place and see where Fitch went."

Arwyn looked up as soon as the other headed away, grabbing a loose fistful of his shirt, "Alex! Don't leave me…" He looked desperate, and knew he was being a touch clingy, but he didn't know what he would do if those creatures came for him again.

"Don't worry, Arwyn. I'll be right back." With that, he placed a kiss on the other's forehead and headed through the archway on the far right of the main room, entering into a hallway. The door to the immediate right was jammed shut, but the second opened just fine. It appeared to be a little girl's room, and it must have belonged to Fitch's daughter. It wasn't quite a bedroom, but it was certainly a playroom of sorts. There were no other doors inside and everything else in the hall was sealed tight. For the time being, it seemed the doctor had somehow disappeared. It wasn't worth searching now, so Alex turned back to be with Arwyn.

Though, as he went for the door, he could hear the clatter of heels against the floor outside. Something was out there.


End file.
